Nihon Buyo History

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Nihon Buyo has been a popular form of traditional dance performed for people of the lower social classes in Japan since the beginning of the 17th century, practiced by both professionals and local Japanese people. The refined movements as well as the detailed gestures to communicate expression, show many of the traditions found in the Japanese culture. The emergence of Japanese traditional dance is said to have come from an ancient Japanese myth. Thousands of years ago, it was said that the goddess of the sun, Amaterasu-Omikami enclosed herself in a cave, leaving the world in darkness due to the horror and grief she had witnessed on earth. To coax her out of the cave, a gathering of gods performed a religious dance and celebration. Curious…show more content…
The dance style of Nihon Buyo is greatly impacted by the two other traditional Japanese dance forms, Noh and Kabuki. Kabuki theatre and Noh theatre both have great impact on Nihon Buyo, but the difference between the forms of art is that Nihon Buyo has no or minimal dialog. Nihon Buyo relies on movement to convey emotion and the story to the audience, while Kabuki and Noh theatre both consist of dialogue to convey the story being told. Kabuki Buyo, which is a subgroup of Kabuki is very similar to Nihon Buyo, as much of the movements of Nihon Buyo has been taken out of the forms and traditions of Kabuki Buyo. Kabuki grew as a form of theatre rather than a form of dance after the war, and as the theatre developed, Kabuki Buyo became a separate form of art which was based more on dance. Kabuki Buyo demonstrate many similar elements of Kabuki, with the tradition stylistic movements and the scenes of daily Japanese life. This is also reflected in Nihon Buyo, where scenes of the daily routine of the Japanese people are performed. Noh is also a form of dance which is greatly influential to the dance of Nihon Buyo. Noh dance, originating from the 14th century, takes the elements familiar movements such as farming or pouring a cup of sake, and presents this as part of a dance. Mai dance of Noh, is the specific section of the form of Noh. Just like in Nihon Buyo, Mai is a style of dance where the feet hardly ever leave the ground as the dancer

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